Morrison remanded in custody

West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison has been remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of punching and slapping his ex-girlfriend and her mother.

Morrison, 21, charged with two counts of common assault, closed his eyes and puffed his cheeks out after being refused bail at Manchester Magistrates' Court today.

Morrison, who spoke only to confirm his name and age, is alleged to have assaulted ex-girlfriend Reah Mansoor, 19, and her mother Parveen Mansoor, 39, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in court on Thursday.

District Judge James Prowse refused a bail application made by Morrison's solicitor Ros Emsley-Smith.

The defendant, who did not enter a plea, was remanded into custody until August 7.

Reporting restrictions were not lifted.

The former Manchester United player is alleged to have assaulted his ex outside a bar in Manchester city centre.

A further assault on her and on her mother is alleged to have taken place a short time later at her mother's house on Alexandra Road in the Peel Green area of Salford.

Wearing a white t-shirt and white jogging bottoms, Morrison, whose address in court was given as Welwyn Close, Urmston, Manchester, but who also rents an apartment at Canary Wharf in London, sat in the dock listening during the hour-long hearing.

He was later handcuffed and taken back to the cells as bail was refused.

District Judge Prowse told him: "You are remanded in custody to appear back before this court by video-link from prison one week from today on August 7."

Despite being touted as a bright prospect at Old Trafford, Morrison only appeared in the League Cup before former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson sold him to West Ham for £650,000 in January 2012.

West ham manager Sam Allardyce took him to Upton Park but he was soon shipped out to Birmingham on loan, a move that the 59-year-old felt helped Morrison develop his attitude.

Upon his return to Upton Park, Morrison established himself in the West Ham first team and was one of their better performers in the early stages of last season.

He scored a memorable goal in a 3-0 win at Tottenham which was voted as goal of the season by Hammers' fans before a groin injury and a drop in form saw him lose his place in Allardyce's side.

Morrison picked up the first of his four England Under-21 caps in a 4-0 win over San Marino in October and was subject to a bid from Fulham in January - although the offer was rejected.

Instead he was moved on to QPR on a loan deal until the end of the season as he helped Rangers to gain promotion from the Championship before returning to West Ham.

Morrison did not travel with the squad on their recent pre-season tour of New Zealand as he underwent surgery on his groin problem, training alone at the St George's Park national training base in Staffordshire.

His long-term future at West Ham has again been questioned after the club's co-chairman David Sullivan suggested Allardyce was not keen on keeping Morrison in his squad - even though the board wanted to offer the midfielder a new deal.

But Allardyce backed Morrison, if he can prove he wants to make it at the club.

"We thought we'd brought Ravel to the forefront of his abilities this time last year," Allardyce told talkSPORT.

"He had a fantastic pre-season and he started the season exceptionally well. I think that drifted away somewhat and he ended up with QPR on loan and ended up helping get them promoted."